The second edition of the international exhibition on power and construction has been held in Accra.
The three day program which came off at the International Trade Fair Centre in Accra was designed for the energy, renewables, electricals and construction industry.
The exhibition also brought together over 200 exhibitors from over 15 countries across the world to offer expertise to address challenges in the power and construction sector.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, in a speech read on his behalf, Deputy Minister of Trade, Carlos Ahenkrah, commended organisers of the conference and charged all prospective investors to make good use of the opportunity given them.
According to him, the exhibition will not only serve as a platform to cost-effective and innovative solutions for energy and construction sectors in the country but will also provide business opportunities in the country.
Jeen Joshua, Chief Executive Officer of Verifair Intelligent Interface,
“I welcome all prospective investors looking for opportunities to conduct business in Ghana, and in the West African Region to make good use of this excellent opportunity offered by Powerelec and Construct Ghana to network with utility managers, senior government officials and the country representatives of the other West African States who are participating in the fair,” he said.
He assured that works are in place for government to clear all debts in the energy sector to bring back efficiency into the generation and distribution of electricity in the country.
Currently, the energy sector debt is estimated at 2.4 billion dollars. An amount that the Finance Ministry is in the process to issue a 15 year bond to settle the debt.
In an interview with journalist, Chief Executive Officer of Verifair Intelligent Interface, Jeen Joshua, said he was upbeat government was going to clear all outstanding debt in the energy and even export power to other neighbouring countries.
“This is what I feel because if you look at the other West African countries, the penetration of power is less than thirty percent but if you look at Ghana, almost like eighty percent of the household in Ghana has electricity,” he said.
He added that “there are more opportunities and I am sure with the way things are moving, in the next five years there will be self-sufficient power supply for this country”
Mr Joshua noted that “the next stage is that the country could be in a position to focus on exporting power to the rest of the West African countries”.